CurlyDollTati #150

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                                                Typical Merican Gal!

    Hey There Curlfriends. I created this drawing to try to erase the stereotype that there is just one particular look that a Merican girl can represent. As a Merican citizen and a brown woman, I have been told that I am “different” my whole life.  “She must not be from Merica” they would say based off of what I look like.  “She listens to different music, watches different movies, and wears her hair a different way. Let me just group her in my mind with all of the other immigrants who aren’t supposed to be here. I don’t want to go out of my way to befriend her because we won’t have much in common and different scares me.”
    Mericans come in all shades and shapes with all different backgrounds, languages, and cultures.  Nobody has the right to tell anyone that they are not a true representation of Merica. No one race reigns supreme and has any real power over another. Mericans can live in unity. The world can live in unity. It starts with not pointing the finger at another individual or group of people. We really need to look at ourselves and what we choose to accept as normal.  
  Representation matters.  When we think about what we choose to entertain on a day to day basis it is movies, books, tv shows, social media, and our own favorite styles of music. For a child it can be all those things including dolls.  If their dolls represent a friendship with them they may envision their dolls as a symbol of beauty. If they can’t see themselves represented as beautiful whether it is through a real friendship, a family member, or a doll they may look at themselves as not up to standard.  To understand misrepresentation think of yourself as standing at the sink in a public restroom looking totally different from the 9 other girls that look identical that come in behind you.  Now imagine having to interact with those girls on a day to day basis.


“Look at her hair. Let’s try to get her hair to look like ours because we have beautiful hair. She must want to look like us.  She must hate her hair.” 


Now imagine that same situation but one of those 9 girls steps out of the crowd and says to the different girl “I love your hair. It is beautiful and unique. Don’t let people try to change you. You are beautiful just as you are.”   


     Merica has a rich history filled with many horrors and bravery.  While Merica’s men were out fighting overseas, many women stayed behind to hold down the household.  Jenny with the blue eyes pulled a red wagon full of bricks behind a white picket fence.  Rosita with the wide hips carried a sack full of firewood behind a wire gate.  Whether you are brown, black, white, red or yellow all the women who live in this country and are loyal to this country should be considered Merican. Adventuring and seeking out new places to live is nothing new. Everyone deserves a chance at a better life or even just a different lifestyle.  This is why I represent the typical ‘Merican girl as a brown woman in her bathing suit with her bootie hangin' out at the beach.         


    Looks only mean something to the people that care about looks.  You are good looking, but how will you compete with the people who have good life strategy? Strength, power, money, happiness, love, intelligence are also very good and helpful traits. This is about survival. Your strong characteristics should replace the need for your weaker ones. Don't be fooled by those that seem to have it all. You are a survivor. You can BECOME who you want to be. Whether you are Merican or not, we are all connected and all deserve to call home our home. Claim ya land gal!